Jean-Claude Van Damme and Volvo Trucks perform world-first stunt
As one of Hollywood’s most famous action stars, Jean-Claude Van Damme has had to perform countless daring stunts, but in Volvo Trucks’ latest film ‘The Epic Split’, he carries out one of his most spectacular yet. The film aims to demonstrate the unique stability of Volvo Dynamic Steering.
Standing between two moving Volvo FM trucks with a foot on each side mirror, Jean-Claude Van Damme performs one of his world-famous splits as the two trucks drive in reverse. He calmly holds his position for the entire length of the drive.
“It’s going to be quite unusual, and the first time we’ll ever see anything like it – in a movie or a commercial,” says the Belgian superstar on set at a deserted airfield in Spain, before shooting the scene. “Before doing the split between the trucks, I saw the storyboard and thought it looked amazing. It’s very majestic and very powerful.”
Since taking up karate at age eleven, Jean-Claude Van Damme has gone on to become a martial arts icon and world-famous action star. Over the past three decades, ‘The Muscles from Brussels’ has starred in dozens of Hollywood blockbusters including Bloodsport, Universal Soldier, Hard Target, Street Fighter, Timecop, and even played a fictionalised version of himself in JCVD (2008). In one of his more recent films, The Expendables 2, Van Damme stars alongside fellow action movie legends Sylvester Stallone, Chuck Norris, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis.
Throughout his career, doing the splits has been Jean-Claude Van Damme’s signature move, performed countless times in many of his action films. But, until now, neither he nor anyone else in the world has ever done the splits between two moving trucks.
The film aims to demonstrate the stability and precision of Volvo Dynamic Steering. It follows on from Volvo Trucks’ previous viral hits including ‘The Chase’, ‘The Hamster Stunt’, ‘The Hook’ and ‘The Ballerina Stunt’.
“Compared with the previous Volvo Trucks’ films, which have a documentary style, we wanted to make something more poetic,” says Andreas Nilsson, the director behind ‘The Epic Split’. “The film is very clean and simple – there isn’t a lot of information and we just let the stunt illustrate what the trucks can do. It’s like a slow-moving, carefully choreographed modern dance.”
See ‘The Epic Split’: http://youtu.be/M7FIvfx5J10
See ‘The Chase’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BRoU1hw-CU
See ‘The Hamster Stunt’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7N87uxyDQT0
See ‘The Hook’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jf_wKkV5dwQ
See ‘The Ballerina Stunt’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zXwOoeGzys
November 14, 2013
Download images in high resolution
For further information, please contact:
Marie Vassiliadis, Media Relations Volvo Trucks, telephone +46 31 3224127, e-mail marie.vassiliadis@volvo.com
Visit http://www.thenewsmarket.com/volvogroup to access broadcast-standard video about the Volvo Group’s various production plants and products. You can download graphic images in the form of MPEG2 files or order them on Beta SP tape. Registration and video are free to the media.
Images are available in the Volvo Trucks image bank http://images.volvotrucks.com.
Volvo Trucks provides complete transport solutions for professional and demanding customers, offering a full range of medium to heavy duty trucks. Customer support is secured via a global network of 2,300 dealers and workshops in more than 140 countries. Volvo trucks are assembled in 16 countries across the globe. In 2012 more than 105,000 Volvo trucks were delivered worldwide. Volvo Trucks is part of the Volvo Group, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of trucks, buses and construction equipment, and drive systems for marine and industrial applications. The Group also provides solutions for financing and service. Volvo´s work is based on the core values quality, safety and environmental care.
Tags:
